LETTER: Buying local boosts whole community

Did you know that locally owned retail businesses and restaurants provide a greater economic benefit to the community than chain outlets? Not to mention the pride in service and quality that shine in the business men and women who live where they do business.

We've all heard the periodic slogans to "buy local" and to "support your local businesses" because they provide local jobs. Now there's growing evidence that independent businesses play a significantly greater role in the health of the local economy.

A new study has concluded that shopping at a locally owned store spurs almost four times as much economic benefit for the surrounding area as shopping at a chain store. This 2012 study by research firm Civic Economics, which looked at independent retailers and restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah, also concluded that dining at a local restaurant generates twice the local economic impact of eating at a chain restaurant. The study found that local retailers return an average of 52 percent of their revenue to the local economy, compared with just 14 percent for chain stores. Local restaurants return an average of 79 percent of their revenue locally, compared to 30 percent for chain eateries.

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Why the difference? Independent businesses spend much more on local labor, buy more goods for resale locally, and rely more heavily on local services.

A 2008 study in Michigan showed that when patrons spend $100 at a local business, on average 58 percent more money stays in the community compared to what happens when buying at a chain store. What does that mean?

With a non-locally owned business, $43 of that $100 stays in the community for such things as taxes, wages and employee spending.

An independent local business returns $68 of every $100 to the community -- buying local supplies and services, providing wages and employee spending, supporting schools, police and fire departments, and giving donations to local charitable programs. Other studies in California and Texas found similar results.

To top it off, the group, Independent We Stand, calculates the economic impact of "buying local" around the country. "If every family in the Utica-Rome metro area spent just $10 a month with a locally owned, independent business instead of a national chain, over $9,597,139 would be directly returned to the Utica-Rome community," the group reports.

Independent We Stand also points out that small businesses account for 75 percent of new jobs, and employ half of the U.S. workforce.

Maybe if every family spent an extra $10 a month at a local business, we'd all feel better about the economy.

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